UAE launches “Small Hearts Campaign” in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, January 17, 2020 (FBC) – Sharjah Charity International (SCI) of the UAE, in cooperation with the UAE Embassy in Ethiopia, has launched its “Small Hearts Campaign” to perform free catheterization for children, at the Children Heart Fund of Ethiopia (CHFE).

The SCI team is led by Dr. Ahmed Al Kamali, Consultant Pediatric Cardiologist and Head of the Campaign, and includes three doctors, according to a statement the Embassy sent to FBC today.

The team started its operations on Wednesday 15 Jan, screened more than 30 cases and selection was made for cardiac catheterization and few open heart surgeries.

It is expected to perform many catheterizations during the four-day campaign.

Mohamed Alrashedi, UAE Ambassador to Ethiopia, said the “Small Hearts Campaign” visit to Ethiopia is part of the UAE’s commitment toward supporting the health sector Ethiopia.

He noted that the visit is the first of many visits in the future, adding that that these visits will help the needy patients and facilitate capacity building and transfer of knowledge for doctors at the Cardiac Center.

Dr. Helen Befekadu, Medical Director and Cardiac Intensivist at the Cardiac Center, expressed her thanks to have “Small Hearts Mission” from the UAE, and for the great support made in this first campaign.

She added that this mission mainly focused on pediatric catheterization than surgical procedures due to limited access of surgical instruments.

“Considering the high surgical backlog in our center of more than 7,000 children’s, future strong and sustainable collaboration with UAE will be very helpful to address the long waiting list as well as professional knowledge and skill transfer” she said.